


my humble heart's duet

by amsves



Series: Master and Man (and Other Stories) [12]
Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Blindfolds, Combat Training, Sharing a Bed, sorry guys its not robin and slade who share a bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-28 05:54:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16235537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amsves/pseuds/amsves
Summary: "For every blow of Terra’s that lands, I will take something from you. You can be sure it will be something important.”[Bad Things Happen Bingo]





	my humble heart's duet

**Author's Note:**

> Bad Things Happen Bingo -- Blindfolds  
> Nobody requested this! This is pure self-indulgence.

“Today’s combat training will have different objectives for you two,” Slade said.

All three of them were in the training room, ready for a day of hard work and intense scrutiny. Slade hadn’t scheduled any retrievals or infiltrations for the day, so it was safe to assume they’d be worked until they collapsed. That was fine with Robin. Training was something he was used to. Committing crimes wasn’t.

_ But you are used to it _ , his snarky subconscious whispered. Robin ignored it. Slade was still talking.

“Terra, I want you to focus on smaller projectiles. Heavy blows are obviously the preferred attack method, but you won’t always have that option. Focus on controlling a large amount of smaller rocks and hitting your target from all sides.” Terra nodded enthusiastically, and Robin considered Slade’s words. If Terra would be focusing on offensive attacks, did that mean he would be on the defensive?

“Robin, you will be focusing on managing attacks from all sides,” Slade continued. “You frequently fight against multiple opponents, and from my observations you have difficulty avoiding damage from simultaneous assaults. Your goal for today will be to deny Terra any attacks against your person.” He paused. “Do you both understand?”

“Yes, Master,” they chorused, and Slade nodded.

“Good. Let’s get to work.”

They donned their armor and took their places. Robin sank into a low crouch, bo staff held at the ready to deflect Terra’s arsenal of rocks. Terra smiled and cracked her knuckles. Robin smiled back. 

“Begin,” Slade said, and they did.

Robin very quickly felt himself being overwhelmed. He could normally avoid Terra’s larger attacks, but he was being stung rapidly by dozens of little ones with no apparent way to fend them all off. They didn’t hurt--he could barely feel them--but the principle was the same. If they had been bullets, or starbolts, he might’ve been bleeding out already.

“Stop,” Slade ordered. Less than a minute had passed.

Robin rubbed at a spot on his neck where a particularly sharp rock had stung him. It felt like it was going to bruise. He hesitantly met Slade’s single eye and saw a harsh glare full of disapproval. 

“I asked you if you understood what you were supposed to do,” Slade said, and Robin nodded. “Why, then, did you not do what I asked?” 

“I’m sorry, Master,” Robin began, “I--”

Slade swept Robin’s feet out from under him, and he crashed to the floor. “I did not ask for apologies. I asked why you were unable to fulfill my request.” Robin didn’t answer. “I expect better from you, Robin. I know your potential, and I know when you do not reach it.”

Slade threw something at Robin’s feet, and Robin picked it up. It was a looked mostly like his own mask, but it was solid black. Robin held it to his face; it was completely opaque.

“It’s a blindfold,” Slade explained. “Put it on.”

As Robin did, Slade kept talking. “I’ve changed my plans. You’ll still be focusing on fending off Terra’s attacks, but you’ll do so without sight. And for every blow of Terra’s that lands, I will take something from you. You can be sure it will be something important.”

Slade stepped away from his two apprentices as Robin got to his feet. “Begin again.”

If it had been hard before, it was nearly  _ impossible  _ to defend against Terra now. Or, at least, it should have been, but for some reason Robin found himself actually slashing at incoming projectiles rather than empty air. He heard the satisfying crack of rock against bo and grinned. Maybe the sight of rocks and earth swirling around him in a dizzying tornado had been distracting him. Maybe all he had to do to win was listen and--

Robin struck out with his staff.  _ There _ . He heard Terra gasp as he hit one of her rocks back towards her. Spinning his staff like a propellor, he put up a forcefield between himself and his fellow apprentice, and smiled again. This was  _ so _ much better.

A rock to the back of the head reminded him not to get too cocky. 

Robin winced but didn’t let it break his focus. Terra was adapting, sending rocks around his shield. He would just have to adapt as well. Slade had said that Robin would focus on fending off Terra’s advances, but he didn’t mention that Robin wasn’t allowed to go on the offensive himself. 

He stopped spinning his staff and slashed out at another rock aimed for his side; a blow glanced his cheek, but he ignored it. With a shout he threw the staff at where he thought Terra’s head was.

There was a sharp intake of breath, and then a thud. He guessed that Terra had fallen to the ground. Robin started peeling back his blindfold just as a third rock hit him, this time in the thigh. 

“Well done, Robin,” Slade said, a note of genuine praise in his voice. “I did not tell you to actively attack Terra, but I did not specify against it, so I will allow it. However, you still allowed yourself to be struck three times.”

Slade stepped forward to retrieve the blindfold from Robin’s outstretched hand. “I think I will collect your mask along with this,” he hummed, and Robin stumbled backwards. 

“No, please--”

“What’s the matter, Robin?” Slade asked teasingly. “I’ve already seen you without it before. This isn’t anything new.” He took another step forward. “Remove it, or I will take it off you myself.”

Robin closed his eyes and peeled it off.

He placed it numbly in Slade’s gloved hand, breathing deeply. Slade was right--they’d done this before. Being mask-less wasn’t anything new. He had nothing to be afraid of. There was no one here who didn’t know exactly who he was.

“Open your eyes, Robin,” Slade commanded, and Robin complied very slowly.

Slade was staring directly at him with an appraising eye. “I didn’t get a good look last time,” he commented idly. “They’re wonderfully blue, aren’t they?” He leaned back, giving Robin his personal space. “As for your other two losses, I’m thinking your blanket and pillow will suffice. Do you agree?”

Robin nodded quickly, a little confused as to Slade’s choice. They seemed so insignificant in comparison to the mask, but he supposed he couldn’t think of anything better. Less food, maybe? But Slade wanted him to keep his strength up … it didn’t matter. What was lost was lost. He should be grateful it was only a measly pillow and blanket.

He didn’t find them measly when, after a grueling day in the training room, he stumbled back to his room and collapsed onto his bed. 

_ Bed _ had always been a rather generous descriptor--it consisted solely of a mattress resting on the floor, complimented by the aforementioned blanket and pillow but no other sheets or anything else to make it more comfortable. Robin had been fine with it, though--if you didn’t count the burning rage he felt at being forced to sleep basically on the ground like an animal. But without anything to keep him warm, dressed only in a t-shirt and sweatpants stamped with Slade’s logo--so that Robin could never forget who his Master was, even in sleep, and how did Slade even  _ get _ these logos on all the clothes he made Robin and Terra wear--Robin found himself in for a rough night.

A cold front had swept through Jump City the night before, bringing with it uncharacteristically cool days and even cooler nights. While the regular citizens of the city were probably rejoicing at the chance to play outside without their clothes changing color from sweat, Robin was cursing Slade for knowing exactly how to hit where it would hurt the most. He could  _ survive _ the night without a blanket, but come morning he would be exhausted, and training would be even more awful. He’d underperform, and probably incur more punishments, and the cycle would go on and on …

The sound of someone appearing in his doorway--with no door, mind you--startled him from his spiral. Terra, dressed in her own Slade™ t-shirt and sweatpants, was leaning against the door frame, her own blanket and pillow in her arms. “Can I sleep in here with you tonight?” she asked, her voice unusually shy.

Robin’s confusion must have shown on his face, because she continued, “I’m cold.”

“Weren’t you living in caves before Slade found you?” Robin asked incredulously.

“Yeah, well.” Terra scuffed the floor idly. “I was cold then, too. I just couldn’t do anything about it. So, can I?”

Robin shrugged. “Sure, I guess,” he conceded, and Terra grinned. She flopped down onto the bare mattress back-to-back with Robin and settled the blanket over them both with a flourish. 

“I hope I don’t kick you in my sleep,” she said jokingly, and Robin smiled. 

“If you do, I’m kicking you back.”

“That’s fair,” she laughed, and a comfortable silence settled over them both. With the added warmth, Robin felt himself getting close to drifting off. 

“Hey, Robin?” Terra asked, ruining  _ that _ , although he couldn’t really be mad, since she was the reason he’d stopped shivering to begin with.

“Yeah?” he replied, and yawned.

“Why do you still wear your mask?” she asked, and his stomach dropped. “I mean, I understand why you keep it on out in the world, like with the Titans and stuff, but … why here? We know who you are.”

Robin exhaled. “I guess … it’s just been a part of me for so long. Who I am with the mask on is like an entirely different person than who I am without it.” He paused. “Does that make sense?”

“Kinda,” Terra responded, “But, are you still the same person with the mask on as you were before?”

“... I guess not,” Robin admitted.

“Then, the way I see it, you don’t need to keep wearing that thing around me and Master Slade,” Terra said definitively, and pulled the blanket up higher on her person. “But that’s just me. Do what you want. Good night, Robin.”

“Good night,” Robin mumbled, and then Terra was out like a light.

She didn’t kick, but she did snore.

* * *

 

In the morning, they reported for training the same as always. At the end, Slade presented Robin with his possessions, and Robin took them gratefully. He went to put his mask back on, but right before he smoothed it back over his features, he stopped. At Slade’s inquisitive glare, he explained, “I guess I don’t really need to keep wearing it around you, do I?”

“You do not,” Slade confirmed, and Robin tucked it into his belt instead. From across the room, Terra gave him a wide smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is a line from "Sheep Song" by Nakahara Chuuya  
> Find me and request bingo squares on [Tumblr](http://www.skeletoncloset.tumblr.com)


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